How to Drink Tea Sustainably

For so many of us, becoming an ethical consumer is an increasingly important concern. It can be difficult to know the best practices or ways to maintain an enjoyable lifestyle, while still doing your best to be sustainable.  

This is an important issue for all sectors, including the worldwide tea industry. This Earth Day 2025 is an opportunity to reflect on the ways we all can make little changes to be more sustainable in our daily lives, and more specifically, when it comes to enjoying a cup of tea.  

Why sustainability is important  

Sustainability, at its core, means that all the resources we use can be used in a matter that will not deplete natural resources, do not contribute or cause pollution, conserve wildlife and preserve equality and workers’ rights.  

These are the issues that Earth Day was founded on; to prioritise the health of the planet; while important strides have been made, we can always be making small changes that can have a big impact.  

Ways you can drink tea sustainably 

We’ve listed some small changes you can make when it comes to making your daily cuppa; and all the ways this can benefit not only the planet, but your wallet as well! 

Boil the right amount of water

We’ve all done it; boiled the kettle with far more water than we could possibly need for our tea, usually without a second thought, but household energy usage is a large source of carbon emissions.  

According to a UK Government report from 2022, household carbon emissions account for nearly a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions across Great Britain.

By only boiling the amount of water you need in the kettle, you reduce the amount of energy wasted. When this mindfulness towards energy usage is applied to the household more broadly, you can make a significant change in your personal carbon footprint; and likely save yourself some money on your energy bills in the process!  

Choose loose-leaf over teabags 

We may be biased here, but we wholeheartedly believe loose-leaf tea is the best tasting, most authentic way to enjoy a cuppa. However, it is also the most sustainable way to enjoy your tea, as it uses less packaging than teabags.  

Teabags require fabric and materials to make each individual teabag. The energy used to create these materials, and then to transport them will create more carbon emissions than loose-leaf tea, simply due to teabags requiring more resources.  

For brands that don’t use biodegradable materials (which we do for our teabags), this can also create a substantial amount of waste- if you think about a typical British household, how many teabags they may be getting through in just a week!  

If you use teabags, make sure they’re biodegradable

However, teabags can be very convenient and may be the only suitable option for some.  

One major way to reduce waste from teabags is to ensure that you are buying teabags made from biodegradable materials. This means that the teabag can be broken down by bacterial organisms, like food and other organic matter, thus reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.  

In addition to this, biodegradable teabags can help to combat plastic pollution. Plastic is a major environmental polluter; an estimated 19-23 tonnes of plastic enters global waters each year.  

Our Triune TM Teabags are made solely from a material called Soilon, a fabric derived from cornstarch which is 100% biodegradable and a renewable source. The same high-quality tea leaves as our loose-leaf tea are packaged into the bags, which are then sealed close using pressure and heat rather than glue or other adhesives, ensuring that we do not contribute to petroleum-derived plastic pollution.  

Resteep your tea leaves! 

One of the best ways to get your money’s worth when drinking speciality tea is brew, brew and brew again! 

With high-quality teas such as ours you are able to resteep teas to get several cups out of the tea leaves. We recommend you keep steeping as long as you are still enjoying the flavour, although some teas are better at resteeping than others (oolong is made to be steeped multiples times, and white teas and green teas also retain much of their flavour).  

By getting the most out of your tea leaves, you decrease the demand for new production, which requires substantial energy, transport, water , labour etc, which in turn helps conserve resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also means you get more of your favourite tea and save money, so it's a win all around!

Recycle responsibly

Ensuring that you dispose of any packaging correctly, and where appropriate recycle, is a big part of being an ethical consumer. Recycling is an effective way of conserving vital resources; such as deforestation.

We use as much cardboard and paper derived packaging where possible when sending your tea to you, which can be recycled and re-used, helping to decrease deforestation. While we aim to use as little plastic as possible, the plastic we do use is recyclable. Please ensure that it is empty of any tea and placed in the appropriate bin. Other of our products are made from recyclable materials, such as glass or metal - although we hope you’ll never want to throw your teapots away! 

Compost your tea leaves

While you might usually think of using old veg and potato peelings, tea leaves make wonderful compost! 

Composting is the process of recycling your household waste into a nutrient-rich fertiliser. This is especially good for boosting the quality of your garden soil and nourishing the plants in your garden, saving the money and carbon footprint of purchasing fertiliser.  

Additionally, compost provides a food source for the invertebrates that birds, toads and most notably hedgehogs feed upon, supporting the ecosystem of your local wildlife and greater biodiversity.  

What Sustainability means to us 

Sustainability is central to everything we do here at The Tea Makers of London; from how we find our flavoursome teas, supporting the communities and environmental growing practices, to how we package it in our warehouse and send it you, as well as the iniatives and organisations we support.  

In short, you can be sure that your tea not only tastes good but does good too.  

Recyclable and Biodegradable Packaging  

• We only use fully biodegradable teabags 
• Our metal caddies are designed for long-term household use and to be refilled with your favourite teas! 
• Where possible, always using cardboard and paper packaging  
• The plastic we do use is recyclable 

Reducing our carbon footprint 

• We source from small-to-medium producers with a proven record of environmental practices and family ties to the land they work  
• We source directly from growers – we don’t use a middleman or tea auctions 
• We work with Carbon Neutral Britain  
• We have an energy efficient warehouse; we don’t use heavy machinery, and our items are hand-packaged  

Ethical Sourcing 

• Working with the Ethical Tea Partnership to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tea industry 
• We ensure that tea workers receive fair compensation for their labour.  
• We use suppliers which provide a safe and healthy working environment.  
• Working with plantations and tea gardens which use farming methods that protect the environment and biodiversity. 

To sum it all up...

There are lots of small changes you can make to drink tea sustainably, meaning you can help combat pollution and global warming, and support tea workers' rights while enjoying your cuppa.